Monday, May 31, 2010

After being knocked out of the #1 spot after his first week at #1 by Eminem, Usher manages to hold down the top spot after returning to #1 a week ago with “OMG” featuring will.i.am. This makes three weeks at the top for Usher. All of the 31-year old superstar’s #1 hits have spent multiple weeks at the top. This matches his three-week run 2008 with “Love In This Club”. His longest run was 12 weeks back in 2004 with “Yeah!” featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon.

Ludacris is featured on two of this week’s Top 5 hits. He slips a notch from 2-3 on Katy Perry’s “California Gurls”. And he is up from 5-4 on Taio Cruz’s former #1 hit “Break Your Heart”.

This week’s highest debut is the first hit from Miley Cyrus’s upcoming album. She is in at #8 with “Can’t Be Tamed”. It is her sixth Top 10 hit. European electronic band LaRoux makes a nice move from 19-14 with “Bulletproof”.

Three other Top 40 debuts this week. Two are from Glee. At #26 is a cover of the 1976 Top 10 smash “Dream On” by Aerosmith. And at #31 is “I Dreamed A Dream” from the classic Broadway smash “Les Miserables”. The other debut is “Cooler Than Me” by Mike Posner. The biggest move in the Top 40 this week is “Un-Thinkable” by Alicia Keys which jumps from 35-27 in its second week on the survey.

There is a new look to Rock-It! this week as I start to focus on the brand new songs and albums that are the making the biggest impressions on me.

Blackout In Wonderland-Jackie Siebert, Love this new dance club hit by Jackie Siebert who was discovered by pop queen Mariah Carey. It combines a retro sound which includes 80s synth stabs with a catchy chorus. The standard techno dance beat makes this song a dance smash.

Something Holy-Stellar Kart, As many of you know, I get very tired by the easy listening Christian pop that we are inundated by with KTIS here in the Cities. That is why groups like Stellar Kart are so refreshing. The Christian pop punk band from Phoenix opened my eyes a couple years ago with “Jesus Loves You”. There latest, “Something Holy” is even better. What is funny is that KTIS might even play this song. It borders on easy listening pop, but is definitely middle of the road rock with a great message.

Light Outside-Wakey!Wakey!, Different yet the same explains this band which is mainly just singer/songwriter Michael Grubbs. He plays piano and sings and finds some outstanding backing musicians. This song from his debut album “Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said The Last Time I Saw You” which debuts in the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200 this week has fun string parts and fun lyrics. It is refreshing.

Growing Up-The Maine, Another Arizona band with a perfect song for graduation time. The message is nostalgic and perfect for everyone finishing school or for that matter any of us who have ever finished school.

Safety Dance-Glee Cast, It took me a long time to buy a Glee song after “Don’t Stop Believin’” but it seems like lately I am buying two per month. And I couldn’t pass up the Men Without Hats cover. “Safetydance” is a classic that has been forgotten by many. The remake is adequate but I mostly like it because it brings back a song that people should never forget.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

For the first time in 2010, a song has debuted at #1. 37-year old Kansas City rapper Eminem makes his entrance on top this week with “Not Afraid”. It’s the first song to debut at #1 since Britney Spears did it last year with “3”. The song becomes Eminem’s second career chart topper. He reached #1 for twelve weeks back in 2002 with “Lose Yourself”. It is his 16th Top 40 hit and first since 2006 when he hit #12 with “You Don’t Know”.

The incredible debut of “Not Afraid” pushes Usher down a notch to #2 after making a 6-1 leap last week with “OMG” featuring will.i.am. Usher will look to return to #1 next week. All of his first eight #1 hits spent at least two weeks at the top. Four of them have spent at least six weeks at #1: “U Got It Bad” (6 weeks) in 2001, “Yeah!” (12 weeks) in 2004, “Burn” (8 weeks) in 2004 and “My Boo” (6 weeks) in 2004.

This week’s top four songs and five of the top six all are #1 hits. That includes Taio Cruz’s debut single “Break Your Heart” featuring Ludacris which holds at #4 with a bullet this week. The song reached #1 back in March and has been hanging out in the Top 5 nearly every week since.

Hip hop newcomer B.o.B. has two songs in the Top 5 this week. He slips from 2-3 with “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. The song spent the first two weeks of May at #1. He also climbs two spots from 7-5 this week with his follow up “Airplanes” featuring Eminem and Haley Williams of Paramore. The 21-year old Atlanta native debuted at #1 on the album chart last week with “B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray”.

Another young star looking for her second #1 hit is 23-year old Ke$ha. She topped the chart for nine weeks at the beginning of 2010 with “TiK ToK”. This week she holds at #8 for a third week with her third Top 10 smash, “Your Love Is My Drug”.

Ke$ha’s second Top 10 hit was “Blah Blah Blah” which featured Colorado alternative band 3Oh!3. This week, Ke$ha returns the favor by contributing to 3Oh!3’s latest hit, “My First Kiss” which is the week’s second debut on the Top 40 coming in way up at #9. 3Oh!3 reached #1 last year with “Don’t Trust Me”.

There are five songs in the 11-20 range of the survey with bullets. One is yet another debut in the Top 40. It is the latest Glee Cast song to hit the chart. This time it is a cover of “Total Eclipse Of The Heart”. This is the third time this song has been on the Top 40. The original by Bonnie Tyler hit #1 in 1983. A dance remake by Nicki French reached #2 in 1995. This week the Glee Cast debuts at #16 with the song.

Another one of the fast movers in this section of the survey is Lady GaGa’s “Alejandro” which jumps from 16-11. She is hoping to make it her seventh Top 10 hit to start her career. The other three bulleted songs all drop this week, partly due to the high debuts in the Top 40 this week. Jay-Z + Mr. Hudson hit the Top 10 last week with “Young Forever”. This week they slip from 10-12. Drake slides from 14-17 with “Over”. And Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber are down from 15-18 with “Eenie Meenie”.

Two songs make a move of 5 more spots in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week. Former Gym Class Heroes’ frontman Travie McCoy is up from 28-22 with “Billionaire” featuring Bruno Mars. And British electropop duo LaRoux consisting of singer Eleanor Jackson and keyboardist Ben Langmaid move up six spots for the second week in a row with “Bulletproof”. It’s up from 29-23 this week.

Three additional songs debut in the Top 40 this week to make a total of six. British rapper Drake scores his sixth Top 40 hit in the past year to start his career at #34 with “Find Your Love”. 32-year old rapper Young Jeezy returns to the Top 40 this week at #35 with “Lose My Mind” featuring Plies. And the Black Eyed Peas have their 11th Top 40 hit this week with “Rock That Body” bowing at #36. My iTunes pick of the week:“Speak To Me”, Remedy Drive“Total Eclipse Of The Heart”, Glee Cast“Keep Faith”, Dresden & Johnston

Sunday, May 9, 2010

It was almost 16 year ago when then 15-year old Usher made his Hot 100 debut with the little known record “Can U Get Wit It” in 1994. Now the 31-year old superstar from Tennessee has his ninth career #1 hit with “OMG” featuring will.i.am. which makes an incredible move from 6-1. It’s his first chart topper since 2008 when he spend three weeks at #1 with “Love In This Club”. His first single to top the chart was back in 1998 when he spent two weeks at #1 with “Nice & Slow”.

British singer-songwriter Taio Cruz has already reached #1 on the pop chart with his first hit, “Break Your Heart” featuring Ludacris. He reached that peak in his second week in the Hot 100 back in March. This week he retains a bullet despite slipping from 3-4.

After two weeks at #1, B.o.B., slips to #2 with his debut single “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. However, the hip hop newcomer climbs two spots from 9-7 this week with his follow up “Airplanes” featuring Eminem and Haley Williams of Paramore. The 21-year old Atlanta native also debuts at #1 on the album chart this week with “B.o.B. Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray”. That album produces a third Hot 100 hit this week, “Magic” featuring Rivers Cuomo at #83.

Another young star looking for her second #1 hit is 23-year old Ke$ha. She topped the chart for nine weeks at the beginning of 2010 with “TiK ToK”. This week she holds at #8 with her third Top 10 smash, “Your Love Is My Drug”.

There is one new song in the Top 10 this week. It is the ninth Top 10 career hit for 40-year old superstar Jay-Z as he moves from 12-10 with “Young Forever” featuring Mr. Hudson. Overall, it is the New York rapper-producer’s 16th appearance in the Top 10 which includes four #1’s: Mariah Carey’s “Heartbreaker” in 1999, Beyonce’s “Crazy In Love” in 2003, Rihanna’s “Umbrella” in 2007 and together with Alicia Keys in 2009 with “Empire State Of Mind”.

Two songs are closing in on making their first appearance in the Top 10. Ludacris holds at #11 with “My Chick Bad” featuring Nicki Minaj. The Atlanta rapper is looking for his eighth Top 10 headlined hit. And Irish band The Script is up from 14-12 with their very first Top 40 hit, “Breakeven”.

There is one new song in the Top 20 this week and it is also the biggest mover within the Top 40. Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber are up from 26-15 with “Eenie Meenie”. For the 20-year old Jamaican Kingston, this is his fourth Top 20 effort highlighted by his #1 smash “Beautiful Girls” from 2007. For the 16-year old teen sensation Bieber, this is also his fourth Top 20 appearance which have all come in the past nine months.

Two other songs hold down bullets in the Top 20 this week. Drake is up from 16-14 with “Over”, and Lady GaGa moves from 20-16 with “Alejandro”.

One song makes a move of 5 more spots in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week. British electropop duo LaRoux consisting of singer Eleanor Jackson and keyboardist Ben Langmaid move from 35-29 with “Bulletproof”.

Three songs debut in the Top 40 this week. Leading the charge at #28 is former Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy. His New York band reached #4 in 2007 with “Cupid’s Chokehold”. This week he has his first solo hit at #28 with “Billionaire” featuring Bruno Mars.

39-year old producer-hip hop star Timbaland has his ninth headlined hit this week as he jumps into the survey with “If We Ever Meet Again” featuring Katy Perry at #37. And 42-year old DJ Khaled who got his start as a radio DJ in New Orleans scores his fourth Top 40 single this week at #39 with “All I Do Is Win” featuring T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg & Rick Ross.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

21-year old Bobby Ray spends a second week on top of the pop charts this week with his first hit “Nothin’ On You” featuring Bruno Mars. Under his stage name B.o.B., the Atlanta hip hop artist holds at #1 with his first hit song which is from his brand new album which was released this week from T.I.’s label Grand Hustle. B.o.B. also has some other chart success this week with a brand new Top 10 hit. More on that later.

Another hip hop chart newcomer, Taio Cruz is also doing well this week. The English singer-songwriter already reached #1 in March with his first hit, “Break Your Heart” featuring Ludacris. This week the song moves from 4-3 in its attempt to return to the pole position. The song also ascends to the #1 spot on the dance chart this week.

Lady Antebellum is in no hurry to leave the Top 5. Their latest hit, “Need You Now” has been on the Hot 100 since last August. This week the country trio moves from 5-4 with the song that they have already taken to #2.

Usher remains red hot by moving from 8-6 with “OMG” featuring will.i.am. It is the 31-year old superstar’s 13th Top 10 hit. Of those 13 hits, eight have gone all the way to #1 including “Yeah!” which spent 12 weeks at #1 in 2004 and “Burn” which spent eight weeks on top that same year. His last chart topper was in 2008 with “Love In This Club”.

23-year old Kesha Rose Sebert who goes simply by Ke$ha is doing well with her third Top 10 hit this week by moving from 9-8 with “Your Love Is My Drug”. Ke$ha has had two mega-chart toppers over the past couple years. She was featured on FloRida’s “Right Round” in 2009 and then topped the pop chart for first two months of 2010 with “TiK ToK” which is up from 18-17 this week.

B.o.B. is not only topping the pop chart this week, he also has the one lone new song in the Top 10. A week after debuting in the Top 40 at #12, the newcomer moves from 12-9 with “Airplanes” featuring Hayley Williams of Paramore.

Four songs hold down bullets within the 11-20 spots this week. Ludacris is up from 13-11 with “My Chick Bad” featuring Nicki Minaj. Jay-Z + Mr. Hudson make a nice 17-12 move with “Young Forever”. Irish band The Script hold at #14 with “Breakeven”. And Canadian rapper Drake moves from 20-16 with “Over”.

There is one new song in the Top 20 this week and it is also the biggest mover within the Top 40. Lady GaGa is up from 28-20 with “Alejandro”. It is the New York superstar’s seventh Top 20 hit song. All have come in the past 18 months and include the #1 megahits “Just Dance” and “Poker Face”. She also has two of those other seven hits still in the Top 40 this week. “Telephone” featuring Beyonce is at #10 and “Bad Romance” is at #28.

Two songs make moves of 5 more spots in the bottom half of the Top 40 this week. Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber leap from 31-26 with “Eenie Meenie”. And Iyaz is up from 39-32 with “Solo”.

There are four new songs in the Top 40 this week. At #27 is the Glee Cast version of Madonna’s “Like A Prayer” featuring Lea Michele, Jonathan Groff, Cory Monteith, Chris Colfer & Amber Riley. It is part of the new #1 album in the country “Glee: Music Of Madonna” which is an EP collection of the songs performed on the “Glee” episode that aired a couple weeks ago. “Like A Prayer” in one of four Glee remakes of Madonna hits that debut in the Hot 100 this week. This also comes a week after the Glee Cast entered the Hot 100 with numerous hits from their last episode “Hell-O”.

26-year old Texas country star Miranda Lambert scores her first Top 40 pop hit this week. She debuts at #30 with “The House That Built Me”. Miranda came close to the Top 40 two years ago when she peaked at #52 with “Gunpowder & Lead” but this is her first entry. Yet another country star, 33-year old Arkansas native Joe Nichols also enters the pop chart this week. He is in at #34 with “Gimmie That Girl”. It is Joe’s fourth Top 40 hit joining “The Impossible” in 2002, “Brokenheartsville” in 2003 and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off” in 2005.

And rounding out the Top 40 is Usher at #40 with “Lil Freak” featuring Nicki Minaj. It is Usher’s 17th Top 40 hit. My iTunes pick of the week:“Strong Enough To Save”, Tenth Avenue North“Shine (Love Is An Action)”, Luminate“Walls”, Manic Drive

About Me

I'm originally from southeastern Wisconsin and did my undergrad at UW-Eau Claire. I currently reside in Chaska, Minnesota where I teach middle school music and perform in the Twin Cities area. I am married and have two kids: Caleb (8) and Abby (2)